Reassurance
by CassandraB123
Summary: He looked her steadily in the eyes and spoke of his worst fear that could ever be unleashed upon the camp. "Annabeth, if Camp Half-Blood went to war, and Percy switched sides, who would win?"


Hey everyone! This is my second PJO fanfic, and I got the inspiration to write a short one-shot about Percy's talent of sword fighting and overall amount of power, which got kind of understated in the Heroes of Olympus series.

If you like this story, feel free to check out my other one-shot PJO fanfic, "Unwanted Power".

Thanks for reading and please leave comments or reviews!

\- CassandraB123 :)

 **Reassurance**

Percy Jackson strolled through camp, the wind whistling through his jet black hair and the sun lighting up his sea green eyes.  
Everywhere he went, campers smiled up at him, everyone content with how things were. _And why shouldn't they be_? Percy thought. They had just won the giant war and the prophecy of seven was complete. Annabeth and he were still happily dating, although the nightmares that constantly plagued them from Tartarus still sometimes kept them awake at night. Percy was rebuilding his life, brick by brick, and part of that construction was keeping himself up to par with sword fighting. But it's not like he actually needed to try that hard while sparring. Percy was the best swordsman of his generation, of course no one could beat him, at least not easily.

In one of his fights with Ben, a son of Ares, Percy toyed around with him, not even paying that much attention. He parried and blocked every blow that came his way, and jumped back and dodged all of Ben's attacks. When, after 6 minutes, Percy had Ben pinned on the ground with the latter's sword lying 20 feet away, no one was surprised. Percy's wins had become habit, a regularity in the irregular lives of the demigods. It was actually something that all of the campers enjoyed to watch, which is why when Percy was sparring someone, the training room was always packed to the brim.

Annabeth and Chiron would sometimes come to these events, standing off to the side but with a clear view of the fight. Annabeth watched with admiration for the techniques Percy displayed, always using strategy to pick apart his opponent's offense.

However, Chrion watched with apprehension. Percy was the best fighter that camp had, Hades, even one of the best heroes Chiron himself had ever trained. He knew he was being irrational when worried thoughts crept into his mind. _If Percy somehow turned against Camp Half Blood and the gods, willingly or unwillingly, who would win_? Chiron couldn't be completely sure, so he became more apprehensive, and the dark thoughts kept coming back to him. He struggled to keep them at bay at times like these, when Percy only showed a fraction of his power and still overpowered everyone around him. When Chiron saw the gentler side of Percy though, he didn't see why he was worried in the first place. When he saw Percy help a young daughter of Demeter get up after tripping and falling, or help a son of Apollo bandage up one of the campers, he was reminded again of Percy's fatal flaw of personal loyalty. _How could Percy be anything but loyal to us, his family?_ But this nagging feeling wouldn't go away, so Chiron gave up and tried to shut it out.

Everyone in camp got scared when Percy was angry. It was like an earthquake had started in the middle of camp, and sometimes, that was actually true. One time, during the afternoon activities, Percy and Thalia got into an argument. It was the same stuff over and over again that they fought about, but they were both so stubborn that neither would back down.

It all started at the archery range, when Percy was trying (and failing) to hit the target. He was very irritable that day because he didn't get a lot of sleep that night (because of the nightmares). It didn't help that Thalia was right next to him, hitting the bullseye every time she fired an arrow, splitting the arrows lodged in the center of the target. It was also the taunting and bragging Thalia projected every few seconds, especially when Percy's aim was really off target and the arrow went flying in the other direction. Percy had been silently taking the verbal abuse, until finally, when he shot an arrow and it speared a tree 20 feet to the left of the target, Thalia started laughing and barely squeezed out, "That one was really close, Perce. I'm surprised that you aren't a child of Apollo," before rolling on the ground again, tears forming in her eyes. Percy snapped and threw the bow down, fists clenched in anger. All the other campers knew to clear out at this point- a fight between two children of the big three is something no one wants to get in the middle of. The ground started to shake and Thalia, knowing that it was Percy's doing, pulled herself up, all traces of laughter gone from her face. She was, however, still smirking heavily, and it was all Percy could do to not punch her face until all of her teeth were knocked out. He wasn't normally violent towards Women, but Thalia had a special talent for pissing Percy off.

"Something wrong, Kelp Head?" Thalia asked, keeping her tone mocking.

"Yeah, I think so, Pinecone Head. I don't know why you feel the need to make fun of me, or why you enjoy making me angry, or especially why you have to be so _gods damned irritating_ all the time!" Percy was shouting now and the ground around him was continuously shaking.

"It's fun to piss you off. You think you are so good at everything all the time, and in reality, you're not! You are so damn arrogant! I wish Annabeth could see it too." Thalia spit the words out like they were poison.

"I'm arrogant?! Excuse me Thalia, how does your big head even fit in Cabin 1? _I'm Thalia and I think boys are stupid! I'm better than everyone because I wear a tiara and black clothes!_ You should look in the mirror before you criticize others."

Now Percy and Thalia were in each other's faces, a storm brewing overhead. One of the campers that had run off went to get Chiron, who knew what was going on. These fights happened every so often, each one worse and more intense than the last. A group of campers went with him, just to witness the drama in person. It's not like Camp Half Blood had cable television.

When the group arrived at the archery range, Chiron could see that this one was bad. Both Percy and Thalia were levitating off the ground, shouting in each other's faces. Percy was held in a hurricane of water, and rain was pouring down furiously from above. Thalia was hovering in a storm cloud, and lighting was cracking loudly against the ground. The winds were at an extreme high, and the other campers had trouble standing. It seemed as if the two were at a stalemate, neither daring to attack one another without getting blasted with the other's element. But then, the spell was broken, and all Hades broke loose. Percy and Thalia's storms combined, and they fought furiously. Percy threw a wall of water at Thalia, who then struck it with lightning. Percy let the water drop, to avoid getting electrocuted. Percy used Icicles and the wind to attack Thalia, while also controlling the crashing waves and the strong earthquake underneath them. Thalia defended with lightning and wind of her own, and soon no one could hear one another over the earsplitting noises of the storm. Finally, Thalia got a lucky break, striking Percy with lighting that electrocuted him and stopped his hurricane and earthquake. He fell to the ground, agonized, but slowly recovered from the water around him. Thalia, thinking he was to weak to continue, started laughing, advancing towards him. When she was two steps away, Percy launched to his feet and uncapped Riptide. He immediately locked into battle with Thalia, and Chiron knew that was what he planned all along. _Play to your strengths, after all._ But then Chiron realized how quickly Percy went down by Thalia's lightning, how it was too quick to be real. _Why did he let her get him?_ While he was pondering this, Percy and Thalia's fight continued, Percy continuously pressing Thalia to make mistakes. Chiron knew he should try and stop the fight, but he and the other campers found themselves locked in place by watery chains around their ankles, connected to the ground. _What strength did Percy possess to powerfully fight Thalia, a competent fighter herself, while concentrating on the chains to keep them together?_ Chiron knew that Percy must be quite angry, for his power to be pulsating like this. But then, Chiron realized, Percy's motivation is really strong. He knew he couldn't land a hard blow on Thalia while she was in her element, so he made it a sword fight. He knew that Chiron and the campers would try and stop him, so he stopped them first. Percy wasn't stupid, like many were led on to believe. He weighed his chances in each situation, and decided he liked the outcome. Chiron grew more frightened figuring this out, because he realized what a force to be reckoned with Percy had become.

The fight, which had been the longest one to date, was winding down. Percy was breaking Thalia's offense down, and she was getting tired, angrier, and therefore more reckless. Finally, Percy got an inside position and disarmed Thalia, her spear flying away. With one quick motion he gripped he hilt of his sword and slammed the butt of it into Thalia's forehead, causing her to black out and leaving a soon-to-be bruise. Percy let the chains fall away as the campers reoriented themselves, still shaken from the fight. He sent one look to the group of campers, one that said, _don't come near me and I'll let you live_. He stalked away, leaving a stunned silence in his wake, only broken by Annabeth who ran off to try and comfort him and get him to settle down. Some children of Apollo were carrying Thalia's limp body to the infirmary, where she would no doubt stay until the end of the week. Chiron just felt exhausted. He had witnessed a display of immense power, and it unnerved him greatly. He knew before this that Percy was a very capable fighter, but now he could say that Percy's powers and temper rivaled those of a god. Before anyone could see him this shaken, Chiron trotted quickly to the Big House.

Annabeth was waiting outside of the door when Chiron finally answered it. He looked haggard and worn, and Annabeth didn't need to be a child of Athena to guess why. It had been 2 days since the extreme Percy-Thalia fight, and they were still refusing to talk to one another. Percy, at least, had calmed down and helped to clean up some of the ruins that he had caused with the earthquake.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Annabeth wasn't completely sure why Chiron asked for her to meet him.

"Yes, thank you for coming Annabeth. We have some things to discuss. Tea?"

After Annabeth said yes to the tea and made her way to the sofa in the next room, she waited patiently for Chiron to return, smiling when he did with two steaming cups of tea. Annabeth decided to initiate the conversation, something she usually had no trouble doing. However, she could feel a weird vibe in the air that was suffocating her, pulling her down with uneasiness and discomfort.

"What would you like to discuss, sir?" Annabeth grabbed the cup and took a small sip.

"Percy is worrying me, Annabeth. But it's not really him I am worried about. Reassure me that his loyalty is unquestionable." Annabeth was a little surprised by the subject of the conversation, but was even more surprised when hearing Chiron's question and sensing the desperation in his voice.

"Chiron, there is never a worry with Percy's loyalty. Everyone knows that personal loyalty is his fatal flaw. He jumped into Tartarus with me for Hades's sake!" Chiron, unfazed by Annabeth's change of volume, set his cup down slowly.

"My dear, I just needed to hear it. Percy's growing power worries me. I needed to know where Percy undeniably stands from you, someone who loves and trusts him greatly."

Annabeth was still confused. "Chiron, why would you need the reassurance? Why does his power worry you? What are you not telling me?"

Chiron leaned back in the chair, his eyes drifting to the open window, through it he could see some of the campers walking towards the dining hall. He thought of all the campers he housed inside the safe borders of camp, of all the innocent young demigods who hadn't yet killed, their hands clean of blood. He then imagined fires burning through camp, lighting up the cabins and scorching the strawberry fields. He imagined Camp Half-Blood fighting another war, campers dying left and right. But, at the final battle, Percy prevailing and winning the war. Then, he pictured the same things, except with Percy on the other side of the battle. All of the innocent campers screaming and yelling for help, and then finally nothing but silence while the flames devoured everything. He drifted back to reality, and looked at Annabeth's serious face, waiting for Chiron to answer her questions.

He looked her steadily in the eyes and spoke of his worst fear that could ever be unleashed upon the camp.

"Annabeth, if Camp Half-Blood went to war, and Percy switched sides, who would win?"

He asked this question with a hoarse voice, part of him begging for Annabeth to say what he wanted her to say, that Percy couldn't overpower all of camp on his own. But she looked right back at him in the eyes, just as steadily, and said, "I don't know."

Nothing scared Chiron more than that answer.

Wow! That kind of went on longer than I thought it would, so congratulations if you made it this far! I just want to add that Thalia is just visiting Camp Half Blood in this story and I am well aware that she is a Hunter of Artemis. Just try to imagine that she is staying at camp for a little while to visit Jason and catch up. Also, I have nothing against Thalia, I actually really like her, but I figured that the fights between Percy and Thalia are always the most explosive. Thanks for reading and again, feel free to leave reviews and comments!

\- CassandraB123 :)


End file.
